


A New World

by PrehistoricCat



Category: Primeval
Genre: Gen, Spin-Off
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-27
Updated: 2011-11-22
Packaged: 2017-10-25 00:26:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/269593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrehistoricCat/pseuds/PrehistoricCat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny Quinn steps through an anomaly and into modern day Vancouver, finding himself suddenly dragged into their anomaly project.  This is my take on how the new Canadian spin-off "Primeval: New World" might start</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Danny Quinn's eyes blinked as he tried to adjust to the dim light. The sun was barely up, but something had disturbed the inhabitants of the forest he'd been calling home for the last three weeks. He knew the signs, and if he didn't get to his feet now, he could miss it. Anomalies were few and far between, and even though he knew the likelihood of this one leading back to London in 2011 was almost zero, he had to take a chance.

He was tired of running and just wanted to be home now. Six months had passed since he'd seen his old friends; it felt more like six years. So much had happened since he'd left them to chase after Patrick – he certainly had no regrets about that; he needed to do it. If anyone could save Patrick from himself, it would be him. But it ended with a showdown; brother against brother somewhere in the Rift Valley, and Danny's training as an armed police officer made him the victor. He didn't feel like a winner though, far from it. Having to shoot your own flesh and blood would mess up even the strongest of minds, and Danny wasn't sure his mind was strong any more.

He needed human contact; a hug, a warm dinner in his stomach, clean sheets on a nice soft mattress and then several pints of beer and maybe a night of pure animalistic lust with a curvy blonde – or a brunette; right now he wasn't that fussy.

The anomaly pulsed and glowed, some 50 or so metres away. The last anomaly he'd gone through had taken him from the Pliocene era and his dead brother into the Cretaceous. His knowledge of prehistoric times was sketchy to say the least; until he'd met Connor, he only knew what he'd seen on Jurassic Park. He could only assume it was the Cretaceous; he certainly knew a Raptor when he saw one anyway. He figured it couldn't be that bad here, Connor and Abby had managed a whole year – still, three weeks was more than enough for him, and now he had to keep moving on if he was to stand any chance of finding home again.

He walked purposefully forward, feeling that familiar tingle as he passed through the glowing ball and then held his breath. The sight that greeted him made his heart leap and a smile spread across his entire face. Buildings; shops, restaurants, office blocks... he was certainly somewhere reasonably within his own lifetime anyway; that he could cope with. He recognised the sign above one of the shops, “Starbucks”... ah, there'd been one of those places across from the police station and they'd take it turns on the night shift to go over and get coffee because the stuff they got from the machine in the station tasted like cat's pee.

A car beeped its horn, and for the first time Danny noticed the traffic. They were driving on the right. “America eh? Oh well... at least the natives speak English,” he said to himself, dodging the traffic to try and cross over the road. There was a grocery store next to the Starbucks; he could buy a newspaper, work out exactly when and where he was and then decide if he could phone Lester for assistance in getting back home to London... but then he realised that he didn't actually have any money on him at all, let alone American money. He'd have to just browse the papers out on the shelf and then find a police station or some kind of official government building – at least he had his Home Office ID on him.

There were newspapers in a locked case outside the shop. Danny glanced inside, “Vancouver Sun”... That was slightly better as far as Danny was concerned; the Canadians weren't so uptight about security, and the date... 28th October 2011, now all he had to do was find someone official who could call the British Government for him. He turned and stared down the long street sighing. This was apparently a commercial area and he'd have to search for what he needed.

“Don't move!” Danny felt something dig into his back.

“Easy! I won't move!” he said, frozen to the spot. A mugger would get a bit of a shock considering he hadn't had a decent bath or change of clothes in 18 months. It wasn't a knife sticking in his back at least, it felt very much like the barrel of a small rifle. It certainly wasn't the first time he'd been in this situation, although back in his force days he had the protection of a bullet proof vest.

“You came through the anomaly, didn't you?”

“What of it?” Danny said back.

“Who are you?” The gun was jabbed in harder.

Danny snapped. “I don't talk when I have a gun pointed at me! Now, if you'll let me reach into my left pocket so I can get my ID card... is that OK?”

“Go ahead.” The gun was still in his back, but only resting there, not jabbing him. Danny took out his battered wallet and flicked it open to show his ID.

“Danny Quinn! I don't believe it! Turn around!”

Danny turned and studied the face of the man that had held him at gunpoint. Clearly the man knew him, but Danny didn't have a clue who he was. He was a slightly older guy; late 40s perhaps, with greying blonde hair that hung loosely around his neck, not quite curls but not quite straight either. His deep set ice blue eyes stared hard at Danny. He held out his hand. “I guess we need to get to know each other better. Eric Tremblay, head of research into the anomalies here in Vancouver.”

Danny smiled, shaking his hand. At least he didn't have to explain himself. “So, you know James Lester?”

Eric shook his head. “The Brits are doing everything they can to cover this up. Look, Danny, why don't you come back to my office at the University. You're about the same size as me, I can get you sorted with some clean clothes, a shower and a decent meal and then we can talk. I'll even help you out with a flight home in exchange for some information.”

“Lead the way!” Danny grinned.

-o-

Half and hour or so later, Eric pulled into the campus of the University of British Columbia, and parked in the staff parking lot at the side of a large white building. Danny looked wide-eyed. Before Patrick had disappeared, he'd been heading towards a University education himself – academically he was top of his class and his parents had high hopes for him. When he chose to join the police force instead, they'd been torn – disappointed that he wasn't fulfilling his academic promise but proud that something positive was being done after everything that had happened with Patrick.

“You're a lecturer then?” Danny finally asked.

“Part time, yes. It pays the bills so I can do my research. That's how I got involved with the anomalies.” Eric lowered his voice, “although I don't say that too loudly; anomalies don't exist according to our government.”

Eric led the way into the building, which had “Faculty of Science” above the large double doors. “I'm based at the far end of the building in a new wing,” Eric said. Danny followed, peering in some of small windows in the doors that they passed. It felt weird being inside after such a long time living outdoors, and he actually found himself feeling uncomfortable. After some minutes, they turned left and came to some locked security doors. Eric punched in a security code into the keypad at the side of the door and it clicked open.

“Welcome to the Geophysical Disaster Computational Fluid Dynamics Centre!”

“What?” Danny scratched his head.

“We study worldwide weather patterns to try and predict weather related disasters, like cyclones, extreme heat that could cause forest fires, avalanches, air quality, you get the idea... Now, here's the key to my locker. You'll find some trousers and a t-shirt in there that should fit you, and then you can use the shower in the private staff quarters. Whilst you sort yourself out, I'll have my assistant get some food in for us, and then I can give you the guided tour and explain everything I know.”

Danny took Eric's key, and made his way silently into the staff area. He took his time showering, savouring the feel of warm, clean water and soap on his skin. He had no idea how long it would be before he could experience this again, so he was determined to make the most of it. He had a lot to cleanse himself of, not just the physical dirt that could be seen, but he felt like he was finally shedding the guilt he'd felt about killing Patrick. It felt good; like he was human again.

When he finally emerged, there was the distinct smell of strong coffee and pizza filtering through the room. Eric was there, pouring himself coffee from a glass pot that had been keeping warm on a hotplate, and he looked up when Danny came in. “Feel better?”

Danny nodded. “The clothes are a good fit too, thanks.” He looked down at himself, loose fitting black combat style trousers and a plain grey t-shirt; it wasn't his preferred style of clothing, but at least they were clean. His own clothes could practically stand up on their own.

The door opened and a young woman walked in. She had waist length brunette hair, straight and incredibly shiny, and she smiled at Danny. “You must be Danny Quinn? I'm Lauren, Eric's assistant. I hope pizza is OK? Not easy to get something at short notice.”

“I'll try to give a bit more warning next time I pay a visit,” Danny laughed. He decided he liked Lauren, she certainly wasn't what he'd expected when Eric had mentioned an assistant. Things were definitely looking up. It had been far too long since he'd even set eyes on a woman, let alone one as pretty as Lauren. “Pizza's fine. I'm starving! Never really got the hang of hunting, and eating roots and berries doesn't quite satisfy a man's hunger.”

“You were really stranded in the ancient past for 18 months?” Eric asked.

“Pretty much. Had a brief spell back in my own time about 6 months back, but I had to deal with some … family business and went back again. How do you know about me if the British Government are covering everything up?”

Lauren let out a laugh and pulled her laptop from its case. She waited whilst it booted up and connected it to a port on the desk. “I acquired some of the information, the rest was deduced.” Danny watched her fingers fly over the keyboard as she typed – So, she was a computer geek too. Definitely easier on the eye than Connor.

“Acquired? You mean you hacked into the ARC files?”

“To a certain extent, yes. I could get in as far as where Prospero took over; their systems are far more complicated than the one Connor Temple installed, but I'm cracking it.”

“So, what do you know?” Danny leaned back in the chair, slightly nervous about what they might have on him, but also slightly amused. Connor had been so proud of his computer system; he'd be so annoyed that someone had managed to hack it.

Eric cleared his throat. “Our interest began about three months ago. We were alerted to some unusual activity in several locations, so we ran some diagnostics. The computers went crazy; what we initially believed to be magnetic storms were breaking out all over the world. Then we started to get word that these storms were manifesting themselves as glowing balls of light, and that prehistoric creatures were rampaging through every major city in the world.”

“The anomalies went global? Woah!” Danny blinked.

“They disappeared as quickly as they'd appeared, and we were asked to issue an official statement that they were freak storms, and that it had caused hallucinations. That was when we got suspicious that something else was happening.”

Lauren continued. “Everyone was ordered to turn in any footage they had to their local Government office so that it could be studied. It was then all destroyed... well most of it was.” She turned her laptop around so that Danny could see the screen. He recognised Becker immediately and he watched with a smile on his face as the soldiers took down a creature with those stun guns that Matt had shot him with, and then he saw them use Connor's device to lock down the anomaly. “Clearly, these guys had experience of these things and we had to find out who they were.”

“Well, if you're up to speed as far as Prospero taking over, then you know as much as I do,” Danny said. He turned to Eric. “You knew me when we met, so I'm guessing you knew that I was lost through an anomaly with Connor Temple and Abby Maitland?”

Eric nodded. “Can you explain what these things are? Other than the obvious 'portals into the past' thing?”

“Sorry. I was the brawn of the team; logistics and operational decisions. If you need someone to explain what they are, and how that technology works, then it's Connor you need.” Danny pointed at the locking device on Lauren's screen.

Eric sighed, rubbed the stubble on his chin then frowned at Danny. “OK, Quinn. Here's the deal. We call this James Lester of yours and get him to send over a new passport and documents for you so that you can fly home – and he sends it over with Connor Temple.”

“What if Lester won't let Connor come over? He's a vital part of the team.”

“Oh he will,” Eric smiled. “He won't have a choice. It'll be a case of; either he lets us have Connor for a few weeks to share what he knows about these things or we release this video footage worldwide and expose his little secret.”

“Blackmail? I like your style!” Danny grinned back.

-o-

Twenty seven hours later, Danny was stood in the arrivals lounge at Vancouver International airport. The phonecall to Lester had been amusing to say the least, and it took half an hour to get him to agree to the terms. Danny was actually looking forward to seeing Connor again, and Abby. He liked them and had been so happy when he realised they'd finally got together during their time trapped in the past. At least some good had come out of their terrible experience. They had a lot to catch up on; he'd left in a bit of a hurry and hadn't even properly said goodbye to them.

Eric had sorted a hotel room for Danny just across from the University. He had hoped that Eric or Lauren would offer to show him the sights of Vancouver, have a few beers with him... but both seemed very work focussed, and after Eric had left Danny he'd said he was going back to the University to go through some data despite it being almost 9pm.

The arrivals board showed that the flight from Heathrow was preparing to land, so he decided he'd probably have about half an hour or so to wait for them to get through customs and baggage reclaim and settled himself on a bench facing the exit from the baggage carousel so that he'd see them.

Life in the airport lounge was almost as strange as life in the Pliocene or Cretaceous. Danny watched the comings and goings – families and couples reuniting, people who had clearly been waiting too long for a delayed flight to come in, frayed tempers, crying children... it made his head hurt.

Finally, people started to filter out into the lounge dragging suitcases. He heard some English accents and realised this was the Heathrow flight. He stood up, eyes searching for Connor and Abby in the crowd. After a few moments, he spotted the unmistakeable crop of dark hair that was Connor and he waved. Connor's smile told him that he'd been seen and he began to make his way over to help with luggage.

“Danny!” Connor yelled, half running, half dragging his suitcase. He gave Danny a hug and then stood back. “Well, you smell a bit better than the last time I saw you!”

“Cheers... where's Abby?”

Connor's smile dropped. “In London.”

“What? Lester was too mean to pay for both of you to come over?”

“Somethin' like that,” Connor muttered. He turned away. “Can we go? It's been a really long flight and I just want to get some food and sleep.”

“Sure, yeah. This way. Eric's booked you into the same hotel as me, although I think you've got a double room. We assumed Abby would be with you.” He motioned for Connor to follow him, and he took the handle of his suitcase to drag it across to where he'd parked. “Perhaps I can talk to Eric and see if he can arrange for Abby to come in on the next flight? Think that's due Friday, because I'm due to fly to Heathrow on Saturday. If you're going to be here for a few weeks, then it'll be nice to have her...”

“It really doesn't matter, Danny. Can we drop it?”

“OK.” Danny looked at his old friend and they silently made their way over to the car. The short journey to the hotel was awkward. Danny tried to make conversation, explaining how he'd ended up in Vancouver. Connor had simply nodded and said that Lester had filled him in already.

At the hotel, Danny checked Connor in and went with him to his room. “I'm in room 405, if you want to meet for a drink in the bar a little later, we can have a catch up before I take you to meet Eric tomorrow.”

“I just want to get my head down,” Connor said. “I'll meet you for breakfast though.”

Something was wrong; this wasn't like Connor. Maybe it was just the effects of the long flight, and once he'd eaten and had a few hours sleep he'd be his usual self again, or maybe he was missing Abby already. Danny closed the door and made his way up to his own room, feeling a little deflated. His second night home and he was alone, again.


	2. Chapter 2

“Hungry are we?” Danny commented, looking at the huge pile of food that Connor had in front of him.

“Didn't eat much last night; flying always makes me feel a bit queasy. Can't wait to try proper Canadian pancakes and maple syrup – Matt says you can't beat them!” Connor poured a huge globule of syrup onto the stack of pancakes and grinned. Danny laughed at him and began to eat his own breakfast of bacon, tomatoes and scrambled egg. “So, have they had anomalies here for long?”

“Not sure. I got the impression they only came across them about 3 months ago.”

“Ah, the Convergence,” Connor frowned. “We had a hard time covering all of that up.”

“Eric and Lauren were involved in the cover up here, but it just led them to investigate further. You'll like them. Both Scientists.”

“Good, Scientists I can work with... soldiers and ex-cops on the other hand...” He grinned and ducked as Danny took a playful swipe at him. “Seriously though, just Scientists? No army?”

“No, Eric seems to fancy himself as a bit of an action man, but they don't have anyone with any kind of formal military experience,” Danny replied, then leaned forward. “They don't seem to have a creature expert either. Abby could be of some use here... you should suggest....”

“Is that the time? I should go up to my room and sort out everything I need to take with me.” Connor suddenly stood up and wiped his face with the napkin. “I brought over my laptop and a load of files. I'm here to do a job and I intend to do it properly.”

Taken aback, Danny just said he'd meet Connor in a few minutes in the hotel lobby when he was ready. He shook his head and watched Connor almost run to get out of the dining room. He was definitely not himself, and Danny had a terrible feeling he knew why.

-o-

The University seemed an entirely different place when there were students around. Connor didn't seem phased at all, but Danny felt on edge. He'd got so used to being alone these last 18 months, being around people didn't feel right.

“Just down here,” he said, guiding Connor down towards the security doors.

“Geophysical Disaster... Interesting,” Connor said. “Weather forecasters.”

“You're not a Science snob are you, Connor?”

“'Course not. All Science has it's place. It's just not the kind of people I thought would be interested in anomalies, that's all.”

Danny pressed the buzzer and waited. The door clicked open and he pushed it, beckoning for Connor to follow. Eric's lab was busy, students were at virtually each computer terminal. Connor's face lit up and Danny nudged him. “Get off on all this do you? Nerd's pornography right?”

Connor was about to respond indignantly, but then he spotted a woman walking towards them. “Danny, good to see you again. Have you caught up with your sleep yet?” She smiled making Danny blush, much to Connor's amusement.

“Almost, thanks. The hotel is fantastic. Lauren, this is Connor Temple.”

Connor held out his hand and shook Lauren's. “We meet at last! It feels almost as if I know you already. Your computer system at the ARC took some cracking, I'm very impressed.”

“Obviously not impressive enough if you hacked in,” Connor pouted. “Pleased to meet you too, Lauren. I'm guessing you and I are going to be working together for the next few weeks?”

“You guessed correctly,” a man's voice said. “Eric Tremblay, you must be Connor. Danny's been telling us all about you. I can't wait to get started.” Eric shook Connor's hand. “Lauren, could you show Connor the office space we've cleared for him to work in?”

“Sure! This way.”

Connor turned and gave Danny a look. “Bad luck,” he whispered. “I guess you wish you were the computer nerd right now eh?” Danny gave him a dark look and watched as he followed Lauren into a side office. Suddenly, Danny felt like a spare part. He had three days before his flight home and no idea what to do with them; doing the 'tourist' thing didn't really appeal.

“Those two will probably be busy for the rest of the day; I know what these computer types are like when they get together,” Eric said. “I'm happy to use the software, but as soon as anything goes wrong, I have to rely on Lauren.”

“Same here; more trouble than they're worth sometimes.” Danny nodded. A thought struck him, remembering the conversation he'd had with Connor at breakfast. “Speaking of trouble; how do you deal with creature incursions? Surely it's not just you, Lauren and that small rifle you pointed at me the other day?”

“As I said, this is all top secret. Our government denies the existence of the anomalies; as does yours. We have no assistance, other than a couple of the students here.” Eric nodded in the general direction of a group of students at the far end.

“Then maybe there is something I can do to assist you. You're going to need weapons, and someone who knows how to handle them. I was divisional champ in firearms back in my days on the Met Police... I'd be happy to give a few pointers.”

“That would be appreciated, Danny, but don't you want to make the most of having a few days rest before you head back to the UK? No doubt they'll have you working as soon as you set foot on that tarmac at Heathrow.”

“Rest? What's that?” Danny grinned.

The remainder of the day was spent with two young students, Scott and Glenn, training them in some basics of how to handle a small pistol and a rifle. They learnt quickly and were enthusiastic. Danny envied their youth and the fact that life hadn't yet jaded them. Did he warn them just what they were getting into with the anomalies, and the self sacrifices they'd have to make? He'd seen Connor change in a short space of time; affected by the death of Professor Cutter, and that saddened him. He'd at least chosen to join the team; Connor had become involved by default and because of the things he'd seen he would never be allowed to actually leave, except in a body bag. Danny shook that thought from his head and tried to focus on the task of training these two young men. They seemed intelligent; they'd work all of that out for themselves.

Connor was enjoying showing Lauren all of his research. Unlike most of the people he encountered, she seemed to actually understand what he was talking about. Her degree in Physics gave her a slight edge on Connor when it came to technicalities, but Connor liked having his mind challenged.

After lunch, Eric joined them and began making a list of all the parts Connor would need to build an ADD and a locking device. They chatted excitedly about how the ADD worked, and Eric showed Connor the data they'd collected – tracking anomalies as if they were electrically charged storms using weather satellites. Connor was already wondering how he could incorporate a weather satellite system into the existing ADD at the ARC; Jess would love it.

“Well, I think we've had a productive day,” Eric finally said, glancing at his watch and realising it was almost 6pm. “Let's go and get Danny, and I'll take you both out for dinner – my shout of course.”

“Sounds great!” Connor grinned. “Thanks.”

-o-

The restaurant turned out to be a steakhouse, with velvet seats, dark wooden décor and a nice warm, homely feel to it; the entire eating area bathed in the glow from an open coal fire burning in the far corner. Danny ate in near silence, listening to Connor, Lauren and Eric chat. He was quite content to just savour the wonderful taste of tender meat cooked perfectly, and a nice cold beer that slid down his throat beautifully. It was a far cry from the meals he'd had the last 18 months, and it tasted like heaven. He found himself having to force the food down; his stomach wasn't used to being so full and he felt slightly bloated.

He leaned back; full, happy and relaxed. Connor certainly seemed more like his old self too; he was talking quite animatedly to Lauren and lapping up the attention she was giving him. Clearly it was just jet-lag that had been bothering him before. If he didn't know Connor better, he'd say he was actually flirting with Lauren. He was probably completely oblivious to the fact she was making gooey eyes at him. Danny couldn't help feeling a pang of jealousy, but realised Lauren was probably not the sort of woman that was into a casual fling with someone who wouldn't be around in a couple of days time.

They took a taxi back to the hotel, and he left a still animated Connor on the third floor as he continued up to the fourth. He shook his head and smiled. Tomorrow, he'd go and do a bit of sight-seeing; Eric was right, he would be thrust straight back into the thick of it when he got back so he should have some time for himself. He'd also make a point of trying to get Connor on his own for a while too and catch up. Connor had said very little about what had happened since he had last seen them, and he was curious to know what this convergence thing was he'd mentioned, and what had happened to Philip Burton. And then there was Abby. Whilst Connor had spent the evening retelling their adventures with the anomalies in the early days, he hadn't mentioned her once.

-o-

The phone at the side of the bed was ringing. Danny squinted; it was barely light and for a moment he was disorientated. He picked up the receiver and heard the familiar voice of Connor - “We've got an anomaly! Meet you in the lobby in two minutes!”

Despite his tiredness, Danny felt a rush of adrenaline. He pulled on his clothes and arrived in the lobby just as Connor did. “Almost like old times, eh?” Connor grinned as the pair of them left the hotel. Eric was waiting for them just across from the entrance, and they climbed in the back of his car.

“Good morning, you ready for this?” Eric said. Danny and Connor nodded. “It's a little way out of the city, area called Surrey – Lauren got a call from the overnight monitoring team about half an hour ago, the satellite picked up electrical activity on the Pattullo bridge and she intercepted some police radio messages indicating sightings of a glowing light.”

They sped along the roads; being so early in the morning there were few cars out. Lauren called to say she was there already with Scott and Glenn, and that it was indeed an anomaly.

“OK, don't do anything until we get there. Use your University credentials if you have to; make the police believe you're conducting a weather experiment.” Eric told her.

“Understood. It's a shame Connor hasn't had chance to put together that locking device; I would've liked to have seen him in action.”

Connor blushed and Danny elbowed him in the ribs. “Jealous are we?” Connor said under his breath. “If you fancy her, why don't you just ask her out?”

“Says the man who took three years to ask Abby out... or did she have to the make first move?” Danny hissed back. He saw something change in Connor's eyes that bothered him; he was definitely going to have to do some 'catching up' with Connor before he went back. Connor leaned forward to ask how much further they had to go; he clearly did not want to continue the discussion.

They arrived at the bridge about ten minutes later, and parked up alongside Lauren's car. The anomaly glowed bright in the dim early dawn light; a sight that both sent tingles of both excitement and fear through both Danny and Connor. Connor reached instinctively for his EMD, then remembered he hadn't got one. He was going to have to depend on the others; a reminder of the old days he didn't like.

“It seems pretty stable,” Lauren said as they approached, addressing Connor more than anyone else. “Wonder how long its been open for? The satellite doesn't pick them up straight away like your detector.”

“That's what I'm worried about. Something could've come through already,” Eric said.

“Nothing on the police comms channels,” Glenn pulled his earpiece out. He'd been listening in for any sign of a radio call for anything that sounded vaguely like a possible creature sighting.

“Good, just how I like it.”

Just as the team began to settle into position to wait for the anomaly to close, Connor spotted something moving from within the anomaly. Something was coming through! Eric, Danny, Glenn and Scott released the safety catches on their guns and held them at the ready, pointed at the anomaly.

A large, almost birdlike creature lumbered through. It had clawed feet like a bird, and arms that almost resembled wings but would almost certainly not allow the creature to fly. It shook it's body, making its feather like coating shimmer before turning it's head in the direction of the waiting humans.

“What the hell is that?” Eric's mouth dropped open.

“Hagryphus by the looks of it... late Cretaceous, fairly common in North America.” Connor's brain always seemed to go into an automatic mode when it came to identifying dinosaurs. Cutter had once joked that his brain was faster and contained more information than Google.

“Do we need to be worried?”

Connor wrinkled his nose. “It's an omnivore, a scavenger mostly... but if it's hungry enough it might have a go at one of us.”

Danny took charge. “We need to get it back through the anomaly before we find out how hungry it is.” He nodded his head at Glenn and Scott, “Like we discussed yesterday; we shoot in its direction to scare it back to where it came from.”

Connor and Lauren took a step back to allow the four men with guns to go forward. A few shots were fired, but the creature seemed barely startled, and instead of going back it moved closer. Connor grabbed Lauren's hand and dragged her into her car. “Drive at it!” he hissed. “In this, we're bigger than it is.”

Lauren started the car and drove slowly toward the creature. It made a snarling noise at them, and for a moment Connor was concerned it was going to smash through the windscreen, but then it began to move backwards towards the anomaly. “Keep going! It's working!”

Suddenly, there was a rapid succession of gunfire, and the creature slumped to the ground. Lauren stopped the car and Connor was out in seconds; his face red with anger.

“What did you do that for? It was going back through!” He looked down at the creature; it wasn't moving. The bullets had fatally wounded it. Then he turned angrily to Eric who had fired the shots.

“This is a public area, there's already a number of people around even at this early hour. We can't risk these creatures being seen.”

“What kind of outfit are you running here?” Connor yelled. “You haven't got a clue have you? Do you realise the potential consequences of killing them? Even the most subtle change in the past could have disastrous implications for our present!”

Danny placed a hand on Connor's shoulder. “Easy, mate. Come on.” Connor shrugged his hand away and stomped towards the car again. Danny followed.

“Even before we got the EMDs, we only killed the creatures as a last resort. Cutter always insisted we tried to get them back where they belonged. You're an idiot, Tremblay! You haven't even considered how you're running this team. You asked for mine and Danny's assistance but then just go and do your own thing! – you should've had tranquillisers on standby. Abby always had some available...” He stopped and bit down on his bottom lip, fighting tears welling in his eyes. Danny could see he was shaking and put a friendly arm around him. This time, Connor allowed it to stay.

“Let's go back to the hotel, eh?”

“Good idea, Danny,” Eric said. “We'll clean up here. Take my car and I'll go back with Lauren.” He threw Danny his car keys. “And then when we've all had time to reflect on what happened here, we'll discuss how you think this should be done.”

Danny guided Connor over to Eric's car and opened the passenger door. Connor slid inside silently and closed the door whilst Danny walked around to the driver's side. They pulled away and Danny waited until they were well away from the bridge before speaking.

“So, what was that all about back there?”

Connor turned and gazed out of the window. Danny sighed, annoyed. He was getting fed up of Connor avoiding questions. “This isn't like you.”

“I'm just frustrated that's all. There was no need to shoot that creature; it wasn't a threat to anyone and it was heading back to the anomaly. Another couple of minutes and it would've been home.”

“Agreed... but there's more to this than you're letting on.” Connor responded with more silence, but Danny could see in the corner of his eyes that Connor was on the verge of breaking down “You've hardly said anything about what happened after I went after Patrick... and every time I mention Abby you change the subject. Talk to me, Connor.”

“I messed up, Danny. I trusted Philip Burton and he used me. I created a machine that made anomalies and almost destroyed the world!”

Danny was not surprised. He'd realised Burton was bad news when he found his name on papers that Helen Cutter had on her when she died. He'd done the right thing warning Matt about him then. “But you sorted it out, right? That's what matters. You're still on the team.”

Connor sniffed. “Yeah, I'm lucky really... well, in some things I am.”

“Ah. Abby wasn't quite so forgiving?”

Connor sighed. “We were supposed to be getting married in three weeks time.”

“Supposed? What happened?”

“Her bloody waste of space brother, that's what happened!” Connor blinked, and wiped the tear falling down his cheek. “It was all going so well. We'd decided not to wait too long to get married and we got lucky, managed to get a slot at the venue we wanted; she'd brought her dress, I was trying to decide if I should ask Becker or Matt to be my best man... and then she decided she wanted Jack to give her away.”

“Well, that's hardly a surprise Connor. She did say he was her only family.”

“I know, and even though I don't particularly like the kid, I understood why she'd ask him. Trouble is, he's off travelling around Europe for the next six months and said he couldn't do it... So Abby wanted to postpone the wedding until he was back.”

“Postpone doesn't sound too bad, Connor.” Danny smiled. “You waited 4 years, what difference will another 6 months make?”

“We argued over it. We'd already paid for things, sent out invites... my mum had booked a hotel for the weekend so she could come. I suggested that if Jack really cared, he'd be there. What's a couple of days out of his trip for his sister, right? Abby flipped; said I clearly didn't understand her at all and if that was the case then why were we even getting married in the first place.” Connor sniffed. “So I said that I wondered the same thing too and stormed out. I spent the night on Becker's sofa, and when I got to the ARC the next morning, she'd left her engagement ring on my desk and Matt said she'd asked to take a few days compassionate leave.”

“Oh, Connor, I'm sorry,” Danny shook his head. “Have you even spoken to her since?”

“Nope. Lester told me about this job that afternoon; said it might do me good to be away for a little while.”

Good for whom? Danny wondered. He couldn't believe that either of them had allowed Jack to come between them; somehow he had to help put things right.


	3. Chapter 3

Connor took a mouthful of coffee and promptly spat it out. He'd let it go cold, and not for the first time. Then his stomach growled, reminding him that he hadn't actually eaten since breakfast at the hotel. It was getting dark outside and the lighting in the office he was using was not as good as it should be. Blinking and rubbing his tired eyes, he shut his computer down and decided to call it a night.

He knew he should be taking better care of himself; he'd forgotten just how much he relied on Abby for that side of things. Even before they'd become a couple, she made sure he ate breakfast, made him a packed lunch to take into work (and reminded him to take a break to eat it) and then ensured they sat down together for a proper meal in the evenings. He hated to admit it, but he'd become so much healthier living with her. His diet as a student consisted of pizza, pasta and anything that could be made by just adding boiling water. Today was almost like when he'd shut himself in the Prospero lab whilst he was working for Philip; except even then Abby would have a meal waiting for him when he got home, even if she'd given up waiting and gone to bed. There would be no meal waiting for him when he went back to the hotel, except for whatever room service could rustle up for him.

He felt completely alone now that Danny had gone back to the UK. He hadn't really connected with any of the team here; he barely spoke to Eric after his outburst on the bridge and Lauren was very professional and work orientated. It was clear she wanted to get on and she lapped up all the information Connor was giving her, but that was as far as it went. At least Eric had agreed to try and find an animal specialist and look into the use of tranquillisers, but that just seemed to twist the knife in Connor's heart even further. It reminded him that Abby wasn't here.

He turned off the light in his office and made his way through the lab. Two students were monitoring the data coming in from the satellites; the night shift. “Hey, do either of you know where I can get a decent meal around here?” he said.

“Sure, if you head down to West 10th there's a few places there,” one of them replied without looking up from his notes.

“Thanks,” Connor muttered and pulled his jacket on.

Connor walked slowly down the street towards the restaurants. He pulled his jacket around him tighter; the evening air was considerably colder for the time of year than he was used to. Home felt a million miles away right now. Part of him wished he'd gone back with Danny, but that would mean having to face up to the fact Abby didn't want to marry him. He'd have to see her at the ARC, and he wasn't ready to be around her, near her, but not able to be with her. Bloody Jack!

He had hoped Danny might stick around a little longer considering he seemed to have a bit of a thing for Lauren, but he understood why Danny needed to go home too. He had things to sort out, re-establish himself back in the modern world – Connor of all people knew just how hard that was. Maybe Lester would find something for Danny to do in the new ARC? He was certain Matt would welcome the contribution that Danny could make to the team with all his experiences.

The smell of food interrupted Connor's thoughts, and now he just needed to decide what to eat; he was spoiled for choice. This area was obviously popular with the students and everywhere seemed busy. He spotted one place that had a 'take away' sign. That would be his best bet he decided; save him the humiliation of having to sit on his own in a crowded restaurant.

Whilst he was waiting for his order, a hand was placed on his shoulder. He span around. “Lauren, hi!”

“Looks like we had the same thought,” she smiled.

“Yeah, take out for one. Sign of a sad and lonely singleton... not that I'm suggesting for one minute that you're...”

“Why don't you come back to my place? I only live a couple of blocks away. The girl I share with is away at the moment and the place feels a bit empty.” Lauren looked at Connor. He was debating in his head whether he wanted to go or not. “Has to be better than spending the rest of the evening on your own in a hotel room?”

That clinched it. “OK, though I must warn you, I'm not great company at the moment.” He forced a smile, then took his bag with his food in and followed her.

-o-

“Eric called earlier. He interviewed a guy today about joining the team – South African, worked on a Game reserve and has experience with large animals and tranquillisers. We're meeting him tomorrow and I think Eric wants you to fill him in on exactly what is involved.” Lauren passed Connor a plate and cutlery for his food, and took a couple of bottles of beer from the fridge.

“Good. It really is the best way to handle these creatures. Killing them could have so many consequences.”

“You mean like; killing a creature that should have lived could result in someone not being born?”

Connor grinned. “That's exactly it! I wasn't that convinced myself, but Professor Cutter insisted we only killed them as a last resort. He reckons there was this woman called Claudia Brown...” He proceeded to explain all of Cutter's theories about Claudia and Jenny, and then went off at various tangents whilst Lauren listened.

“You make it all sound so exciting!” Lauren gushed when Connor finally took a breather. He swallowed down a long mouthful of beer and looked at her. “I can't wait to get started properly!”

“I wouldn't be so hasty,” Connor's mood changed. “People die because of the anomalies... my friend Tom, Captain Ryan, Stephen, Cutter, Sarah.... we almost lost Abby and...” He stopped and looked away, blinking away a tear. Lauren placed her hand on his.

“I know. I read the files. I don't think Eric fully appreciates what he's getting into here, and that worries me. He just sees these anomalies as a bargaining tool with the Government.”

“What do you mean?”

“He had a huge research grant application turned down last year and now the department is in financial trouble.”

Connor sighed. “And he thinks he can use the anomalies to get them to change their minds about the funding?”

“Something like that,” Lauren leaned back in her chair and wrinkled her nose. “He doesn't actually care about whether those creatures go back, or if we can do more research to try to stop the anomalies... Not like you do.”

“He's going to have to care! The anomalies take over your life, and once you're in there's no going back.” Connor felt his blood begin to boil. Why did so many people want to use the anomalies for their own gain? Didn't they realise just how dangerous they were? He decided he was going to have to make it a lot clearer just what this all entailed tomorrow when he and Lauren met the potential new guy.

“Enough about work, eh?” Lauren said, standing up and clearing away the plates. “Do you like ice cream?” Connor nodded enthusiastically and watched as she served large scoops of vanilla ice cream into bowls. “What about you? What does Connor Temple do when he's not saving the world from dinosaurs?”

“This and that, you know. I like Sci-Fi, computer games...”

“Girlfriend?”

Connor hesitated. Did he still have a girlfriend? “No,” he said finally. He hated to even acknowledge it.

“Boyfriend?”

“What?” Connor laughed. “Er, no.”

“Just checking...” Lauren swallowed nervously, and then before Connor had chance to protest she was leaning in and kissing him.

Panicked, Connor pulled away. “Lauren... I... look, you're a lovely person and I'm flattered...”

“But you're not interested. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. I crossed a line and I was out of order.” She hurriedly picked up the bowls and turned away, fussing around the dishwasher.

“I was supposed to be getting married in a few weeks time, but we broke off our engagement just before I came out here. I'm just not ready to jump straight into anything else at the moment. I'm sorry.” Connor felt his cheeks burning. “I should be going; its getting late and we have a long day tomorrow.” He picked up his jacket and turned to leave.

“You don't have to go, Connor. I'm so unbelievably stupid!”

“I think it's best that I do leave. I'll see you tomorrow.”

Outside in the cold, Connor shivered and wondered which direction the hotel was in, and was it within walking distance? As he walked down to the main street in the hope of seeing somewhere familiar, he turned over what had just happened in his head. Had he led Lauren on? Was he giving off signals that made her think he was interested? Women confused him, and his head hurt. The sooner he got back to the hotel, the better. He could shut the world away and pretend none of this had happened.

-o-

Eric had been right. Danny hadn't even gone through customs at Heathrow when he saw someone stood just the other side of the gateway holding up a sign with his name on. Lester had said he'd send someone to meet him at the airport and take him straight to the ARC – he had hoped for at least a couple of hours to get his head down for some sleep after his flight, but it was not to be. The man introduced himself as Scott and said he was one of the special forces team working under Becker.

“No luggage?”

“Damn, must've left it in 85 million years BC...” Danny grinned. “Just me and my rucksack.”

The drive to the ARC lasted just over an hour. Danny tried to sleep, but the constant stop-start of central London traffic made the car jerk and it was impossible. By the time he was being led into Lester's office, he felt irritable and tired. He hadn't really had much time to take in the details of the new ARC when he was here last; his mind had been on Patrick and then on Philip Burton, not quite believing that the person he'd seen named on Helen Cutter's paperwork was not only in the ARC but partly financing it.

Lester looked up from his desk as Danny entered. He almost raised a smile, then checked himself and the usual hardened expression was there. “Quinn,” he nodded, and Danny sat down directly facing him. “I trust our Canadian friends looked after you properly?”

“No complaints.” Danny leaned back.

“I suppose Connor's filled you in on everything that happened here? Good call on Philip Burton by the way. Matt said it was you that alerted him to the fact he could be bad news.”

“Connor did say something about an anomaly and saving the world.”

The door opened and Matt came in. He sat next to Danny and listened as Lester interviewed him; it was pretty much the same story he'd heard from Connor and Abby when they returned, except Danny had moved around. Finally, there was a question that Matt needed the answer to.

“What about your brother?”

Danny's expression changed. “He's dead.” Matt closed his eyes; his mind was full of conflicting emotions. Ethan had been a threat and was a danger to everyone – but he was still Danny's brother, and losing a family member was not easy as Matt knew only too well.

“I'm so sorry,” Lester finally said.

“Don't be. Patrick died when he went through that anomaly at the house all those years ago. That man he became...”

“What happened?” Matt asked.

“We played cat and mouse for a while, and then it came down to him or me.” Danny sniffed. He really didn't want to go into the long 'discussions' he and Patrick had had; those were private.

“Well, at least Emily can stop looking over her shoulder. She'll be grateful of that at least. I should go and tell her, if that's OK?” Matt looked at Danny and then waited for Lester to nod, before leaving to go and find Emily.

“I'll get Jess to arrange for someone to take you over to the company apartment; you're welcome to use it until you're back on your feet. We'll discuss where you fit into our team in a few days when you've had chance to recover.” Lester picked up his phone and asked Jess to make the arrangements.

“Would it be OK if I went to see Abby and Becker first? I left a little abruptly last time and I'd like to catch up.”

“Of course,” Lester sighed. “Ask Jess for a bio-tag so that you can access the labs.”

Danny stood up to leave and turned, but Lester spoke again. “Did you speak to Connor? How is he... coping?”

Danny resisted the urge to smile; Lester being concerned about Connor amused him. Lester would never admit it, but he did actually care about his staff. “You mean, how is he holding up after splitting up with Abby?”

Lester nodded sadly. “It was rather tense here; he jumped at the chance to go and spend some time away to get his head together. I'm not entirely sure it was the wisest decision. Abby's mooching around like an angry teenager with a thunder cloud over her head.... the pair of them need their heads examining!”

“Perhaps we should arrange to push them through an anomaly and lock it? Worked for them before.” Danny grinned, then became serious. “Connor's throwing himself into work so that he doesn't have to think about it, but the strain is showing. He misses her like crazy.”

Lester shook his head, and then his phone rang. “This is the Minister... if you'll excuse me....”

Danny left to go and find Abby.

-o-

Lester's description of Abby having a thunder cloud over her was spot on. Danny had been stood in the doorway to her lab for five minutes and she hadn't even realised he was there. She was busy typing on a laptop, cursing every now and then and grumbling to herself. It wasn't the Abby he knew; she'd always been full of fight and enthusiasm but the girl he saw in front of him was just angry. Suddenly she yelled at the laptop and slammed the lid down, and that was when she realised Danny was there.

“Danny! I heard you were coming back!” She leapt off her chair and rushed over to hug him. He wrapped his arms around her and savoured the moment. She was the first person who had actually hugged him since he'd been back, and it was taking everything he had to stop himself crying. “It's so good to see you!” She pulled away and smiled at him. That was more like the old Abby, but there was still a sadness in her eyes.

“It's good to see you too. Nice set up you have here.”

“I like it,” she said. “It's not ideal, but it's probably the best we can do in the circumstances.”

Danny perched himself on a chair and folded his arms, looking straight at her. “How are you?”

“You know me, Danny.”

“I thought I did.” He unfolded his arms. Abby looked at him questioningly. “I thought you'd learnt your lesson and realised that your brother is a waste of space.”

“Connor told you what happened.” Abby scowled.

“I can't believe you chose your brother over Connor... again!”

“He's the only family I've got, Danny. It's important to me that he's there for my wedding. Connor doesn't understand.”

“So you're giving up your chance of starting your own family and being happy with Connor because your brother doesn't care enough about you to give up one weekend of his life for you?”

“I wasn't saying I didn't want to get married, I just asked Connor to put our plans back a few months so that Jack could be there... is that too much to ask?” Abby was fighting tears, and she turned away from Danny so that he wouldn't see.

“Everything was already arranged and paid for wasn't it? It's only a couple of weeks away. Surely it's not too much to ask Jack to hop over from Europe for a couple of days?” Danny perched himself on a stool by Abby's desk. “Is your brother really worth losing Connor over?”

“He's family, Danny!”

“And so was Patrick.”

“Was?” Abby turned back to look at Danny.

“Blood may be thicker than water, Abby, but it doesn't automatically give them rights. There comes a time when you have to draw a line and say 'this is unacceptable; I'm not letting you ruin my life any longer' and walk away. Or in my case, end it with a bullet.”

“You killed him? Oh, Danny, I'm so sorry.” She reached out and stroked the back of his hand, and he placed his free hand on top of hers before holding it tightly.

“I thought I could change him... but he didn't care for anyone except himself.” Danny looked Abby straight in the eyes. “If you care about Connor as much as I think you do, then you'll not let your brother stop you from doing what you want.” Abby turned away again, and Danny could tell from her slumped shoulders and bowed head that she upset. “Abby... call him. There's 8 hours time difference, he'll be just getting out of bed.”

“It's too late, Danny.” Abby choked back the tears she'd been failing to fight off. “I've ruined everything.”

“It's not too late – trust me! I saw him...” Abby's mobile phone was on the desk. Danny picked it up and handed it to her. “Call him.”

Sniffing and wiping her face, Abby stared at the phone for a moment. She flicked through to the address book and found Connor's number. She heard it ring and took a deep breath, and then that familiar voice; sounding a little croaky and confused because she'd obviously woken him.

“Connor... hey. Good morning.”

Danny smiled to himself and closed the door to the lab as he left.


	4. Chapter 4

Danny was restless. The company apartment was OK, but it was far too white and made his eyes hurt. It didn't feel like a home, even though it was nice to have a soft bed to sleep in and not worry about where his next meal was coming from. He'd sat in the ARC, trying to get a feel for how it all worked now. Jess had just confused him; she was a nice enough girl and practically fell over herself to help him but she was just far too perky... and if she mentioned Becker one more time he was going to throttle her. He sensed someone had a little crush on Soldier boy. Becker seemed to be revelling in having a team of soldiers to lead, and Danny had been impressed by the armoury he'd built up. He was putting the men through a strict regime of exercise and drills, making them a slick operation.

Then there was Matt and Emily. Connor had filled him in on the fact that neither were from this time and he eyed them with curiosity. By all accounts, Matt's world had been a terrifying place and Danny had a renewed respect for him. Emily seemed the perfect partner for him; she would understand how it felt to be living in a world that wasn't your own. She had obviously adapted very well to modern life too. It amazed him just how much a human could adapt to different circumstances in order to survive, although some came out of it better than others. Patrick's mind had become so twisted he was no longer human; he'd become like one of the creatures they encountered through the anomalies, attacking as a form of defence when he felt threatened. Kill or be killed. Danny closed his eyes, that was exactly what had happened – was he turning into the same cold blooded killer that Patrick had been? Was it part of the Quinn family DNA that turned them like that instead of handling it in a calm manner like Matt and Emily had?

The anomaly alarm sounded, and everyone sprang into action like a well-oiled machine. They'd gathered around Jess's huge central console, Matt handed out the communication devices and Becker handed out the EMDs before they all turned and headed towards the exit to the car park. As they passed Danny, Abby stopped.

“Come with us, Danny. It'll be just like old times.”

“I'll give it a miss this time. Had more than my fair share of anomalies for a while, but thanks.” Abby nodded and ran to catch up with the others. Danny watched with a sadness in his heart. It wouldn't be like old times at all. He didn't belong here now, there was no place for him. The team functioned perfectly well without him. At that moment, he decided that he needed to move on and get on with the rest of his life.

-o-

Connor's mind was elsewhere as the new guy began rattling off his experiences; London to be exact. Since Abby had called him earlier, she was all he could think about. There was an uncertainty to it, but she had sounded like she'd been crying, and she did say she was missing him. It had to be a start, right?

“Connor, you OK?” Lauren asked. “You're miles away.”

“Sorry. Late night, early morning... still not quite got the hang of the time differences.” He felt his cheeks burn and he tried to clear his mind. This was not a job you did when your mind was on other things. He listened as Ben, the South African ranger, related a story about how he had tracked down a stray lion that had wandered into the park and was attacking a newly formed herd of zebra. Connor liked his accent and the way he finished each sentence sounding like a question. Ben had grown up living close to the Kruger National Park; his parents were rangers there and he'd spent his entire life clinging to the back of a land rover with a tranquilliser gun strapped to his back. He would be perfect. He reminded Connor a little of some kind of hybrid between Matt and Danny, with a little bit of Stephen thrown in.

“Well, I think that's about it. Welcome to the team, Ben!” Eric stood up and shook Ben's hand, and then Ben shook Connor's and Lauren's hands. “If you'll excuse me, I have a meeting with the grant committee about an application I put in a few months ago.”

“A grant? That's good. When you get this up and running you're going to need the money to get yourselves some proper premises. You're going to need somewhere for all the creatures that you can't get back through the anomalies.” Connor said, glancing at Lauren. She shifted awkwardly and looked away.

“Can't they just go to the local zoo or something?” Eric said.

“No!” Connor shook his head in disbelief. “Do you actually understand what is involved here? Just what are you planning to do with the money if they give it to you?”

“I have a department to think of. I have research waiting to be done that's had to be shelved because of lack of funds. Not that it's any of your business.” Eric turned and strode towards the door.

“So Lauren was right; you don't actually care about the anomalies except as a way to hold your government to ransom for the money you need.”

Eric glared at Lauren angrily and sniffed. “I'm late for my appointment already. We'll speak about this later.”

Connor, Lauren and Ben watched Eric leave in stunned silence. “Trouble in camp already?” Ben said finally. Lauren looked annoyed, muttered something under her breath and disappeared into the side office, leaving Ben and Connor alone. Connor felt bad, he probably shouldn't have mentioned that she'd told him about Eric and now he'd probably got her into trouble with her boss. He'd go and find her in a little while once she'd calmed down and apologise. He was getting good at saying the wrong things recently.

“So, is it true you captured a Colombian Mammoth in the back of a lorry?”

Connor laughed – he loved retelling this story. As he told Ben how Abby had lured it with some female elephant urine from the local zoo, he felt a tug at his heart. The sooner he finished his work here and went home again, the better. He and Abby would work out their issues somehow.

-o-

Eric had returned from his meeting in a foul mood. It had clearly not gone in his favour. Connor decided he should probably stay out of the way for a little while. When Lauren went in to see him, there were raised voices and Lauren stomped out a few minutes later, slamming the door behind her.

“That man!”

“I didn't get you into trouble, did I?” Connor said. “I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that you'd told me.”

“It's OK. I only spoke the truth and it's nothing that I wouldn't say to his face.” She sat next to Connor, looking at the now almost complete anomaly detector he was working on. “I suppose once this is done, you'll be heading back home.”

Connor nodded. “Can't wait! Not that I don't like it here, it's just....”

“I understand. Look, about last night. I was out of line... I don't want there to be anything awkward between us because I kissed you.”

Connor swallowed down a laugh. It wasn't that long ago he'd had a very similar conversation with Abby, except their awkwardness had been because neither was willing to admit that it had been a rather nice kiss and would have liked to have taken it further. “No awkwardness here,” he smiled.

“If I'm the reason you're in a rush to leave, then I'm sorry.”

“No, no... it's not that at all. Remember I said I was supposed to be getting married but it was called off? Well, Abby rang me early this morning. I hope that means she's willing to rethink things.”

Lauren squeezed his hand. “I'm sure it does. She'd be a fool to leave you.”

“I was an idiot! Of course it's not un-reasonable for her to want her brother there... and if it means moving the date another 6 months so that he can be there, then I guess that's what we need to do.” He picked up his soldering iron and grinned. “Better than not getting married at all eh?”

“Family's important,” Lauren said, standing up. “I should leave you to it. The sooner you finish, the sooner you can go home and make plans.” Connor looked up and noted a sadness in her eyes. He hated knowing he was responsible for that sadness, but what could he do? He loved Abby and he had to take advantage of being thrown an unexpected lifeline.

As Lauren turned to leave, Ben knocked on the door and stuck his head around. “We got one!” Connor looked at him blankly. “An anomaly... you know... the reason you got me here...” They were out and waiting by Eric's car in a matter of seconds.

-o-

Eric had picked up reports of a glowing light whilst monitoring police frequencies on the radio, and confirmed it by checking the satellite readings coming through. As they approached the large park, there was an air of tension within the car. The last anomaly was still fresh in Connor, Eric and Lauren's minds and none wanted a repeat of the arguments that followed.

“We're almost there,” Eric finally said. “Hopefully the park won't be busy, it's a cold day. We can't afford to have too many people witness this.”

“Is there any wildlife in this park?” Ben asked. “If some dinosaur comes through and it's hungry... it may not be the humans we have to worry about.”

“Deer,” Lauren said. “We have to contain this quickly, Eric. We can't pass off dead deer as 'weather related casualties' easily.”

Connor remained silent. He was very aware that Eric was carrying his rifle and that Ben had not packed a supply of tranquilliser – he hadn't had time to get any equipment together having only arrived this morning. Yet again, they were ill prepared and Connor didn't like it.

They were waved through a gate into the park, and were told that the north end by the lake was closed off. “It's OK, we're not here for the fishing,” Eric said calmly and drove on. They guessed that the anomaly was by the lake and that the police had already cordoned off the area from the public.

“Do you have your British Government ID with you, Connor?” Eric asked.

“Never without it!”

“Good. I'm going to get us past the blockade, we need to convince them we're here on legitimate business.” Eric pulled right up to the temporary barrier across the road and stopped, watching a young police officer approach.

“I'm afraid this area is out of bound to the public, sir.”

“Oh, we're not members of the public,” Eric said, reaching into his jacket for his ID card and Connor did the same, holding his wallet open for the officer to see his card. “Professor Eric Tremblay, department of Geophysical Disaster Computational Fluid Dynamics at UBC, and this is a colleague of mine visiting from the UK; he works for the British Government. Your Commissioner requested our assistance with this phenomenon.”

The young officer searched down a list of names he had on a clip board. “I don't have a Professor Tremblay here... you'll have to wait whilst I check.”

“We don't have time to wait for you to get clearance. Commissioner Greene called me only a few minutes ago and told me to get here as a matter of great urgency. You remember the last time there were strange weather patterns like this? Mass hallucinations, panic... do you want a repeat of that?”

The officer swallowed nervously and glanced over his shoulder. “I shouldn't...”

“Look, let us through so that we can make a start on our job, and then you can make a few phonecalls.” After a moment of hesitation, the barrier was lifted and Eric put his foot on the accelerator and was heading towards the anomaly site at speed.

Connor shook his head and laughed. “Can't believe you just did that!”

“Must have a word with the Commissioner about training his new boys in security protocols!” Eric grinned, then turned to Ben and Lauren. “You ready?” They nodded as Eric slowed right down, looking for a suitable place to park. The anomaly was just in front of them, large and bright and filling the air with static electricity.

The four of them got out and stood in front of the anomaly, all lost in their own thoughts. Ben's eyes were wide and his mouth open. It always amused Connor to see people's first reactions to an anomaly, and he'd usually be explaining what they were by now, demonstrating the magnetic property and generally being geeky over them... but not today. He was too on edge and wanted to keep his full attention on the anomaly.

Eric loaded his rifle, making Connor even more nervous. Reading his expression, Eric came over and placed a hand on his shoulder attempting to reassure him. “It's a last resort, Connor, I promise. We'll do it your way this time. Come on, we'll do a quick look around to make sure nothing's come through yet and leave Lauren and Ben guarding it.” Eric jerked his head to indicate for Connor to follow him.

Connor glanced behind at Lauren and Ben. They were deep in conversation; Lauren was clearly explaining what she knew about the anomalies to him. When they'd moved a little distance away, Eric stopped and turned to Connor.

“Just what are these things, Connor? Are they naturally occurring or man-made?”

“I didn't think you were interested, except in the money you think you can make out of this.”

“Whatever Lauren told you...It's not just about the money. These things are as much a part of the work I've been doing for years as any other weather event. That's why I need to know how these occur. You and I are the same, Connor. I just want to understand them.”

Connor sniffed. He still wasn't quite sure about Eric's intentions, but he always liked to see the best in people and a part of him wanted to believe that Eric was like him. “I'm pretty certain they're a natural phenomenon, but like anything in nature they can be copied – and that's where the trouble can start. People interfering with them, trying to control them...” Connor's voice trailed off as shouting was heard coming from the anomaly site.

Eric and Connor both ran back to where they'd left Lauren and Ben. In front of them was a creature; frighteningly familiar to Connor. Standing at least 15 feet tall on strong hind legs, it swung it's long tail and lunged forward. “What the hell is that?” Eric said, raising his rifle instinctively.

“Utahraptor,” Connor said simply, slowly moving toward the car.

“Raptor? That's not good, right?” Lauren whispered.

“We'd better hope it's not hungry. We have to get it back through, if it gets loose in the park every deer in the vicinity could be it's lunch... and every human,” Connor said. “Any ideas, Ben?”

Ben was climbing into the driver's seat of the car and starting the engine. The creature seemed alarmed and began to back away towards the anomaly.

“Great move!” Eric called. “Drive forward slowly, we should be able to force it to go through.”

They all watched as Ben moved forward, gently pushing the creature to the anomaly. It was only a metre or so away when it suddenly changed it's mind and surged forwards at the windscreen of the car, shattering it. Ben leapt out and rolled onto the floor, breathing hard. Another creature appeared, slightly larger than the first and snarling angrily with drool hanging from it's enormous jaws.

“This is getting out of hand. If we don't do something fast, we'll lose control,” Eric hissed at Connor. Suddenly, Connor found himself wishing that Matt, Becker or Danny was here. He realised Eric, Ben and Lauren were all looking to him for guidance and leadership and he couldn't offer it. Connor wasn't a leader, he had spent all these years following and relying on others.

“Maybe we can get them to chase us?” Lauren said. She pulled open the trunk of the car and found a large blanket. She unfolded it and let it open out like a flag, waving it in her arms wildly. The two creatures were definitely interested and began to move towards her. She started to run towards the anomaly and the creatures turned swiftly to chase her.

Connor knew the moment he opened his mouth to scream her name that it was too late. Her limp, lifeless body was tossed aside like a rag doll. He closed his eyes as tears stung them and the sound of gunfire rang in his ears several times. When he finally opened his eyes, the two Utahraptors were laid on the floor in a pool of blood and Ben and Eric were just staring at Lauren's body; completely shellshocked.


	5. Chapter 5

“Connor?”

For a brief moment before she answered the phone, Abby had been annoyed. Connor had clearly forgotten the time difference and not realised that she'd been tucked up in bed for hours. Then, as the call connected, her annoyance turned into concern. He didn't speak but she could hear his faltering breath and sniffs. He was crying; something was terribly wrong.

“Talk to me, Connor,” she said softly. She'd never felt so helpless in her life.

“Lauren's dead and it's my fault!”

Abby vaguely recalled Danny mentioning a Lauren and knew she was one of the Scientists working on the Vancouver team. “I'm sure it wasn't your fault. Try to calm down and tell me what happened.” She sat up in bed and switched on the lamp at the side. She could almost picture Connor trying to compose himself, struggling to fight back his tears. He'd always been the one to wear his heart on his sleeve and she could read him like a book now, even when she couldn't see him.

Over the next few minutes, Abby managed to establish that Lauren had been killed by a creature at an anomaly call, and that Connor had blamed himself because the team weren't adequately prepared. He'd garbled on about not having the locking device finished, “If we'd locked the anomaly when we got there, those creatures wouldn't have come through at all.” Then he said it was his fault that the creatures hadn't been shot because he'd insisted on doing things his way. Abby saw little point in arguing with him about it over the phone; once Connor had a bee in his bonnet about something it was difficult to convince him otherwise. There was only thing she could do.

“Come home, Connor. You don't have to be there.”

“I do, Abby! At least until I've finished building the detector and a locking device. They can't do this without the proper equipment; today's shown that.” Connor sounded thoroughly miserable. Truth was, the only thing really stopping him from getting on the next plane home was the fear of Abby not wanting him once he got there.

“I understand. You have a job to do and you must do it.” Abby knew he would only feel even more of a failure if he didn't complete the task he'd gone out there to do, despite how unhappy he was. “Have you eaten yet? It must be late evening there.”

“No... my stomach's in knots, Abby.”

“You have to look after yourself, Connor. Promise me that once you put the phone down you'll go and get something to eat and drink – even if it's just a burger?”

“OK” Connor felt deflated, too tired to argue.

“And then try to get some sleep so that you're fresh and ready for tomorrow. You'll be no good to anyone if you're tired and cranky. Perhaps things won't seem so bad in the morning.”

Connor smiled to himself. He almost hadn't called her, but now he was glad he had. He'd needed to hear her voice more than anything, but he realised that he also needed her straight talking and no nonsense attitude. It was that attitude that had kept him grounded whilst they were in the Cretaceous and was probably the reason they were both still alive. “Maybe you're right.”

“Of course I'm right, Connor.” Abby forced a laugh, suddenly realising that Connor wasn't the only one fighting tears. She thought she'd lost him forever with her stubborness, but here he was turning to her in a moment of need. Danny was right; she couldn't lose her chance of building a family with Connor because of her brother who only ever thought of himself.

“I'm going to hang up now, Connor,” she said, pulling herself together. “It's nearly 4am here and I can hardly keep my eyes open.”

“Oh god! I'm so sorry! I forgot....”

“Don't apologise. I'm glad you called me. Focus on finishing what you have to so that you can come home.” Abby took a deep breath. “The flat's too quiet without you... I miss you.”

“Miss you too.” Connor's voice was barely audible. “Goodnight.”

Abby whispered goodnight back and ended the call. There was another word on the tip of her tongue that she desperately wanted to say, but it wouldn't be fair on Connor if she said it now. He would be torn between his commitments in Vancouver and her... and she couldn't do that to him. He'd be home soon enough, and then they'd have all the time in the world.

-o-

When Connor arrived at the Science department the following morning, there was a weird silence. Word had spread quickly about Lauren's death and the sense of shock and disbelief was obvious. Connor paused for a moment by the door to her office before going into his own. He closed the door and stared at the half finished detector on the desk. This was the reason he was here and he had had no business trying to tell Eric how to run things. He decided he'd stay clear now and do what Abby had suggested – focus on the task and then go home to London and face up to whatever was waiting for him there; or not waiting as the case could very well be.

Ben had seen him arrive and poked his head around the door after a few minutes. “You OK?”

Connor nodded. “You had an eventful first day.”

Ben walked into the office and pulled up the spare chair, sitting down to watch Connor. “I had thought Eric was kidding when he said this job involved dinosaurs.”

“You still want in? Wouldn't blame you if you wanted to back out after yesterday.”

“If I can do anything to prevent another person dying like Lauren did... I'm looking into getting hold of some tranquilliser guns and darts, and sourcing a reliable supplier of Rompun and Ketamine... Just wish I knew how much I'd need.”

Connor knew someone who would be able to help in that regard. He scribbled a number on a post-it note and gave it to Ben. “Abby will be more than happy to advise you. Tell her I gave you her number.”

Ben nodded gratefully then shifted awkwardly. “Have you spoken to Eric since yesterday?”

“He went with.... Lauren's body... to the hospital, and then said he would go and speak to her parents. Don't envy him that.” Connor bowed his head, remembering the look on Cutter's face when he returned from informing Stephen's family of his death. That event had been a game changer for them; it made them all wake up to just how dangerous this work was... and if something good was to come from Lauren's death too, Connor hoped Eric would wake up to the same fact. It seemed Ben had, and he was already planning for the next anomaly.

The two men parted to allow each other time to get on with their jobs. Connor welcomed the time alone and with no distractions he began to make good progress on the detector. It was beginning to look like his original one that he'd built under Cutter's guidance. The design had undergone a few changes since then, but it was essentially the same basic idea; picking up activity on the radio frequency of 87.6 FM. When they combined it with the technology they already had here, the detector would alert them to any new anomalies within moments of them opening.

After several hours, Connor yawned and stretched. He hadn't eaten all day yet again and his stomach growled. It was only 4:30 pm but it seemed much later. He decided he'd work for another hour or so and then call it a night. As he picked up his soldering iron to complete the part of the circuitry he'd been working on for the last hour, there was a knock on the door. He closed his eyes briefly, praying it wasn't another anomaly. “Come in, it's open!”

A student appeared, smiling awkwardly. “Sorry to disturb you, Professor Temple... you have a couple of visitors. They insisted that you would want to see them.”

Connor smiled. He'd never actually been introduced to Eric's students as Professor Temple, but they'd all assumed that he was as Eric had said he was a Scientist from the UK and he'd never had the heart to correct them. The student stepped aside to allow the familiar, and very welcome, figure of Danny to enter the room.

“Danny!” Connor leapt to his feet and hugged his old friend. “What are doing back here? I thought Matt and Becker would have you rounding up creatures by now.”

Danny swallowed and his face turned serious. “I heard about what happened with Lauren. It sounds like you could do with some help around here.”

“Do we ever! I'm just not cut out for making tactical decisions in the field like you are.” Connor's relief was almost overwhelming; if anyone could pick up the pieces after yesterday's mess it would be Danny – he'd pulled the UK team back together after Cutter's death after all. Then Connor realised the student had said 'visitors'. Danny wasn't alone. He peered around Danny's shoulder and the sight that greeted him made his heart leap for joy.

“Abby!” He let his tears fall unashamedly as Danny moved aside. Without a word, she flung her arms around him, holding him tighter than he'd ever been held before. Neither of them heard the office door click closed as Danny left them alone.

-o-

Ben filled Danny in on the main details of what had happened, although he did already know most of it. Abby had called him in the early hours after she'd spoken to Connor and told him. She was desperate to help Connor but hadn't known where else to turn. Between them they'd decided the best way to help was to get the next flight over to Vancouver and be there in person. Lester hadn't liked Abby going off at such short notice, but couldn't argue with her because he knew she'd go anyway, regardless of whether he gave permission or not. He'd told Danny to make sure that neither Abby or Connor did something they'd regret and got straight on the phone to the Minister to make emergency arrangements for Abby and Danny. Luckily, there was a flight from Heathrow just after mid-day and two seats in business class. Ten hours later, they had landed in Vancouver and came straight to the University.

“Where's Eric now?” Danny asked.

Ben shrugged his shoulders. “No-one's seen him since yesterday. Connor and I have been here all day and there's been no sign; not even a phone call or an email.”

Danny almost felt sorry for Eric; he knew how it felt to have the death of someone on your conscience, especially someone you were supposed to be responsible for. Back in his days on the Met police, he'd been partnered with a young rookie officer who'd been a little over enthusiastic. His recklessness got him killed, and Danny had blamed himself for not reining him in and taking a proper lead. Even if Eric's intentions for the anomaly project were not what they should be, he certainly didn't deserve to lose a member of his team under his care. “I have to find him,” Danny said. “Do you have an address for him?”

“Personnel probably have his address, I just have his cell phone number,” Ben said. “I hope you can talk him round.”

“I'll try,” Danny said.

-o-

Danny wasn't one for pulling rank, but he did like the power that having British Government ID seemed to have. The University personnel department had been reluctant to give him Eric's address, even when he tried flirting with the girl on reception. It was only when he flashed his ID at them that they gave up the information he needed. He found himself in what he considered to be a rough area of town, and had to ask three people to check he was in the right place. It didn't feel like the kind of place he'd expected someone like Eric to live.

He climbed three flights of stairs before he found Eric's apartment. The policeman in him told him to be on his guard and watch his back; it felt like someone was watching him and waiting to pounce on him. He shook his head and tried to put it to the back of his mind – this was not the criminal underworld of London that he used to patrol.

Apartment 423 was Eric's. Danny knocked loudly and waited. There was no response, so he knocked again.

“OK already!” Eric's snappy voice came from within the apartment. Danny heard footsteps approaching and then the door opened. “Danny. I didn't expect to see you again. Thought you'd gone home?”

“Can I come in?”

Eric stepped aside and motioned for Danny to come in. “I wasn't expecting a guest, so you'll have to forgive the mess.”

“That's OK, this isn't a social call.” Danny sat himself down on the sofa and looked at Eric sternly. “I was sorry to hear about Lauren. She seemed a nice girl.”

“She didn't deserve to die like that.”

Danny watched Eric move towards the kitchen area and switch on the kettle to make a drink. His demeanour had definitely changed since he'd last seen him. He was a man that had given up. “It wasn't your fault,” Danny finally said.

“How can you say that? You weren't there. Connor was right; we were ill prepared and had no organisation because all I was thinking about was exploiting the situation to get funding for my research.”

“Maybe her death could have been prevented, but believe me, dwelling on who is to blame is counter-productive. You just have to take stock, learn a few lessons and make sure it doesn't happen again.”

Eric turned away, his back to Danny. “It won't happen again. It's over.”

“I didn't have you down as a quitter, Eric. I'm disappointed.” Danny stood up and joined Eric, picking up the kettle to pour hot water in the mugs Eric had got ready. “Thing is, you can't just walk away from this now you're involved. It's a part of you, and you'll not be able to rest until you've found closure. You'll always have Lauren's death on your conscience until you've done something positive.”

“I'm out of my depth, Danny. All I know is my Science; I'm not a fighter and I'm not a leader... not like you.” Eric sighed. “All I saw was an opportunity to try and get more money for my department; I was a fool. Those things are dangerous and best left to the experts to deal with.”

Danny added some milk and sugar to his coffee and leaned against the counter. “There are no experts... just people who've learnt the hard way what these things can do to you. Take young Connor; he was just a Palaeontology student interested in conspiracy theories and weird creature sightings when he got dragged into this. Since then he's lost a friend, several colleagues and spent an entire year trapped millions of years from home – do you think he asked for any of that? If Connor had just walked away when someone died, we wouldn't know half the stuff we do about the anomalies.... He's not a quitter; he wants to make a difference and try to prevent other innocent deaths.”

Eric scowled. “Then let Connor handle this. I don't want anything else to do with the anomalies.”

“I don't believe you.”

“Then I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave. This discussion is over.” Eric glared at Danny, and Danny knew this was an argument he couldn't win at the moment. Events were too raw for Eric at the moment and he needed time to digest them. He left without a word, wondering what his next move should be. Vancouver had an anomaly problem, and someone had to deal with it. Ben seemed keen to continue, there were a couple of enthusiastic students... he had Connor and Abby...

“Guess it's down to me then,” Danny said out loud to himself. Suddenly, he realised that he'd found where he fitted in at last; for the time being anyway. He wasn't entirely sure he liked that thought but if he didn't do this, then who else would?

-o-

The team were gathered in Connor's office the following morning, wondering what was going on. Danny glanced around at them – the two students he'd given a few shooting lessons to were there, looking a little nervous and trying to work out if they should be there or not. Ben was leaning against the edge of the desk, flicking through his thick notepad where he'd been scribbling notes from various phone calls he'd made the previous day. Then Danny caught Abby and Connor's eyes. They looked tired, thick dark circles around their eyes. For a moment he was concerned, but their smiles and the occasional loving glance at each other told him that their apparent lack of sleep was not down to being awake all night arguing; far from it.

“OK... Since Eric isn't here, someone has to take charge,” Danny said, trying to look stern but with a twinkle in his eyes Abby and Connor knew well.

“And that someone is you?” Connor asked.

“For the moment. How's that detector coming along?”

“Almost there, I should....”

“Almost isn't good enough, Connor. I need it online now... and we need one of those locking devices, have you even started on one yet?”

Connor shook his head, his eyebrows knitting together with worry. “They're easy enough to make, we practically mass produce them now. It won't take me long.”

“Couldn't we just get Matt to send us one of the spares over for now?” Abby said. “If we use a courier, we'll have it by tomorrow afternoon.”

Danny nodded. “Can I leave that with you, Abby? Connor, you must have circuit diagrams with you?... get onto the electronics engineering department here and recruit a couple of students to help you out. You'll need to train someone how to maintain and use them anyway, unless you intend to hop on an aeroplane every time something goes wrong?”

“Aye aye, Captain!” Connor laughed, grinning from ear to ear. He squeezed Abby's hand and disappeared off in search of the engineering department; a spring in his step. It felt good to be working under a proper leader again, although his good mood was somewhat helped by the presence of Abby.

After Connor had left, Danny turned his attentions to Ben. “Did you make much progress yesterday?”

“Found a few potential suppliers, but without knowing the sort of quantities I'll need.... I did try calling Abby yesterday,” Ben grinned.

“Sorry,” Abby smiled and felt herself blushing. “When I speak to Matt about getting a locking device sent, I'll ask if he can get Jess to forward all my notes from the menagerie by email. I've been keeping records pretty much from when we started.”

“Excellent! I'll leave you two to it then whilst I take Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle-Dee here off for a few more lessons in handling firearms.” Danny nodded at the two students. “It's Glenn and Scott isn't it?”

“Yes, sir,” one said. “Can't wait to get started!”

Neither could Danny. The day seemed to pass quickly with everyone engaged in activity. Scott and Glenn were quick learners and soaked up everything Danny said like sponges, but Danny couldn't help being concerned. They were certainly enthusiastic, but they reminded him of the young rookie he'd been partnered with. They lacked proper experience; the sort of experience you'd only get these days if you were in the Army or the Police. If this team was going to be taken seriously, then he'd need to try and recruit a couple of men or women that were ex-military or police somehow.

Connor believed he'd finished the detector, but couldn't be certain it worked until there was an anomaly. Until then, he would have to keep checking the satellite readings that Eric's students were sending him. He'd found a very helpful Post-Grad student over in electronics engineering who had taken Connor's circuit diagrams from the locking device and said she'd set a couple of students onto it during a tutorial – bribe them with extra credit towards their degree for doing it. Sally had asked no questions about what it was for, and she'd made Connor turn several shades of scarlet when she commented that his English accent was cute. She could be incredibly useful to the team.

Abby and Ben had also had a productive day. They'd managed to secure a good supply of a couple of different tranquillisers as and when it was needed, and they'd also been to visit the Greater Vancouver Zoo and made a few contacts there. Abby had insisted Ben would need their help from time to time; she'd certainly found her old friends back at Wellington Zoo had been an incredible source of information. She just wished that Ben would have the benefit of the Menagerie like she did. What he was going to do with any creatures he couldn't get back through an anomaly hadn't been thought about yet, and Abby couldn't see how they could do it unless the University had some dis-used buildings that could house the creatures.

As Danny was preparing to close everything up for the evening, the door opened. “I was hoping you'd still be here, Danny.” It was Eric.

“We've had a long day. I was just getting ready to leave.”

“Can we talk? I'll drive you to your hotel.” Eric was quiet, and clearly had barely slept since Danny had spoken to him yesterday.

The two men walked slowly out to the car park in silence. Danny sensed that Eric wanted to say something but was struggling to find the words. He didn't know if he should just keep quiet until Eric was ready, or if he should try to kick start a conversation. It was more than a little awkward; did he tell Eric that he'd taken over his team?

It was only after they'd pulled out onto the main highway that Eric cleared his throat to speak. “I've been looking at some possible new premises for us today.”

“Premises?” Danny was puzzled.

“I had a long think about what you said yesterday. You're right; I can't just walk away from this. I've been going about it all wrong.. I understand now why there's a need to keep the anomalies secret, and I should be using my expertise and knowledge to assist, not hinder.”

“Agreed. Apart from the mass hysteria and the general danger to life, there are people who want to use these things for financial gain. The data from your weather satellites alone could be very useful to someone like Connor in helping to understand how they work.”

“There's an old warehouse just outside of town, just a few minutes drive from here. It has a few offices and a large open space that we could divide up into animal enclosures,” Eric said.

“Sounds like you have it all figured out?” Danny smiled. It was all slotting into place nicely. Finally, Eric was understanding what he was getting into and what he needed to do.

“I'm getting there. I've a meeting set up tomorrow and I'm going to put forward a proposal. We need our own version of your ARC, with the backing of our government. I need you to be at that meeting; maybe convince them that we can liaise with the UK team?”

“I think you already are.” They glanced at each other and laughed. The Vancouver branch of the Anomaly Research Centre had just opened for business.

-o-

The departures board was reading that the flight for Heathrow was boarding. Danny gave Abby a final hug and sighed happily. Not so long ago he'd have been longing to go back with Abby and Connor, but now he was more than happy that he was staying. Lester had rushed through his application for a work visa – he'd be here for at least 6 months as the field leader for the Vancouver team, whilst Eric lead the research side of things and Ben took care of the creatures. They were slowly moving into the new premises, and with Connor's guidance had set up a whole computer system and the ADD.

“You will come over for the wedding, won't you?” Abby said.

“Try stopping me! Next weekend yes?”

Connor nodded and squeezed Abby's hand. “Can't believe it's happening!”

“Did you sort out everything with your brother?”

Abby's face creased into a frown. “I don't know. I've told him when and where, and that I want him to give me away. If he doesn't turn up, then it's his loss. You were right; I need to think about the family I will have when I marry Connor. I'm going to ask Lester if he'll be on standby to give me away.”

Danny couldn't help thinking that Lester would be extremely flattered that Abby would even consider him for such an important role in their big day. He tried to give the impression that he didn't care, but deep down he thought of his younger members of staff like his own children. He'd be standing in the church like a proud father regardless of his involvement on the day.

The tannoy boomed out the final boarding call for the Heathrow flight and Abby tugged Connor's hand. “We'll see you next week!” she said, kissing Danny's cheek and turning towards the departure gate. Danny watched the pair of them enviously. Holding hands, in love and facing a future together...

As he turned, he heard Connor's voice. He'd come running back and handed Danny a piece of paper with the name 'Sally Howell' and a phone number. “I almost forgot!” Connor gasped. “She has copies of all the circuits for the locking device and the detector. If anything goes wrong, she can help you.”

“Thanks, good to know there's a Tech head nearby. Now go! You'll miss your flight!”

“She has a thing for English accents, especially London ones... and her favourite food is Mexican.” Connor ran to catch up with Abby.

“Why do I need to know that?” Danny called.

“You're taking her out for dinner tonight! Meet her at the University clock tower at 8.30!” Connor then disappeared through the security barrier to board the flight.

Danny shook his head. Connor, of all people, had set him up on a blind date! He glanced at his watch – three hours to get ready. He had a good feeling about life for a change.


End file.
